Discover December 2016

Features:

The Origins of Dogs
By Gemma Tarlach
Most of us agree that dogs are our best friends. But scientists don't all agree on when that bond was forged. New genetic research is helping pinpoint the provenance of canine domestication.

The Last Soviet Citizen
By Eric Betz
In the early 1990s, USSR cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev was stuck in space while his country unraveled and modern Russia was born. But his sacrifice helped form invaluable international collaborations that have shaped the space programs we see today.

Nothing Really Matters
By Adam Hadhazy
There's a whole lot of stuff out there in space, but there's also a lot of, well, empty space. And those barren voids are more important than you'd think.

The Day Warming Began
By Douglas Fox
The in formation from the earliest thermometer prototypes is helping experts map climate patterns prior to the industrial age. But is the data really that dependable?